This invention is a method comprising preparing a sample by coating a thin film of a precursor material, which is free of fluorescent probe molecules onto a substrate and subjecting the precursor material to conditions to attempt to cause cure of the precursor to an organic, aromatic, polymer having a dielectric constant of less than 3.0, exposing the sample to radiation having a wavelength in the range of 200 to 500 nm, detecting a resulting emission of radiation, and comparing the emission to the emission for a known cured, non-oxidized standard for the polymer.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A method for simultaneous monitoring of the degree of cure and oxidation of an organic, spin-on dielectric material comprising the steps of preparing the sample by coating a thin film of a precursor material, which is free of fluorescent probe molecules onto a substrate and subjecting the precursor material to conditions to attempt to cause cure of the precursor to an organic, aromatic, polymer having a dielectric constant of less than 3.0, exposing the sample to radiation having a wavelength in the range of 200 to 500 nm, detecting a resulting emission of radiation, and comparing the emission to an emission for at least one standard for the polymer, which standard has a known degree of cure and a known degree of oxidation, thereby obtaining an estimated degree of cure and estimated degree of oxidation for the sample.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the polymer is a polyarylene.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the polymer is the reaction product of a cyclopentadienone functional compound and an aromatic acetylene functional compound.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the detecting and comparing steps comprise measuring emission intensity at emission wavelengths corresponding to a cure responsive wavelength, an oxidation responsive wavelength, and a wavelength not responsive to either cure or oxidation; normalizing by dividing each of the emission intensities at the cure responsive wavelength and the oxidation responsive wavelength by the emission intensity at the non-responsive wavelength to obtain a cure intensity ratio and an oxidation intensity ratio; and comparing the cure intensity ratio and the oxidation intensity ratio to a cure intensity ratio and an oxidation intensity ratio for at least one standard having a known degree of cure and oxidation.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising adjusting cure conditions based on the estimated degree of cure and the estimated degree of oxidation.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the cure condition, which is adjusted, is selected from temperature, time, ambient environment, or a combination thereof.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the comparing step comprises comparing either the peak excitation wavelength or the peak emission wavelength of the sample to a peak excitation wavelength or peak emission wavelength of at least one standard having a known degree of cure and oxidation.
8. The method of claim 4 wherein the polymer is the reaction product of a cyclopentadienone functional compound and an acetylene functional compound.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the cure responsive wavelength is in the range of about 380 to 440 nm, the oxidation responsive wavelength is in the range of 500 to 650 nm, and the non-responsive wavelength is preferably in the range of 460 to 500 nm.
10. The method of claim 8 wherein the cure responsive wavelength is in the range of 390 to 400 nm or 420 to 430 mn, the oxidation responsive wavelength is in the range of 520 to 550 nm, and the non-responsive wavelength is preferably in the range of 470 to 480 nm.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein the substrate comprises a silicon wafer.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the polymer is a benzocyclobutene based resin.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein the comparing step comprises comparing, on a plot of emission intensity versus either excitation wavelength or emission wavelength, a width of peak emission intensity at half the height of the peak to a width of peak emission intensity at half the height of the peak for a standard having a known degree of cure and oxidation.
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December 28, 2000
July 15, 2003
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